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Tulips

There is some Tulipa doerfleri in my parents' garden in central England.
It's a red-flowered species, related to T. orphanidea, endemic to Crete. It
spreads solely by underground runners from the bulbs, as its flowers never
produce fruits, and there is a good patch of it now, after about six years'
growth. The soil is a well drained sandy neutral loam, in a fairly sunny
spot, not prone to much frost. T. doerfleri grows abundantly on a mountain
plain in central Crete, as a weed of cultivated and fallow fields. In a good
year it can be an amazing sight, with drifts of bright red flowers.

I also have T. armena var. lycica, from SW Turkey, growing in a very well
drained gritty soil near the T. doefleri. It is a smaller plant, with
wavy-margined leaves and scarlet flowers. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed
that two of the three plants had flower buds.

Nick.

Nick Turland,
Department of Botany, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
Telephone/voicemail: + 44 171 938 8803  Fax: + 44 171 938 9260  Email:
n.turland@nhm.ac.uk
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